


What's Your Secret?

by Musetotheworld



Series: Supercat Week 3 [6]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Dating Agency, F/F, Supercat Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-22 15:16:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10699659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musetotheworld/pseuds/Musetotheworld
Summary: It's always a shame to waste a gift, and Kara finds the best way to utilize one of hers. She wasn't expecting to attract the attention of one Cat Grant by doing so, but the universe has a way of making sure things work out in the end.





	What's Your Secret?

They say that if you find a job doing what you love you’ll never work a day in your life.

Turns out that if you can find a job finding love for people, your work never stops.

Kara had started in high school, helping out a friend here or there. There weren’t too many soulmate pairs in their small town, but when Kara would notice a match she very often couldn’t stay quiet. She had to rely on Alex for the subtle things, but that was okay. Both sisters wanted to help where they could, and this seemed to be one thing they could do on their own.

When they go off to college, Kara sees a lot more matches around her. She can never explain exactly what she sees to Alex, but that doesn’t seem to matter. Whatever Kryptonian ability lets her see potential soul bonds, it’s never wrong. She can take the guessing and searching out of the equation for those she cares about.

Alex takes science courses, her main focus on bioengineering like Jeremiah but with a few side courses on the science of soul bonding. She makes Kara take business classes as well as her investigative journalism courses, and when they graduate they open shop as an exclusive soulmate finding service. There are others out there, but Kara’s unique edge quickly builds their reputation. Everyone knows their name, everyone wants to hire them.

And Kara enjoys helping them. A detailed questionnaire helps make sure that the person they’re helping match doesn’t have any worrisome qualities, and when Kara finds Alex’s soulmate they add detailed background checks on any matches to what they offer. There are benefits to having a former police detective on the team, after all.

Her only regret is that they can’t help everyone. Kara knows that most of the couples they match end up happy in their relationships, which is the ultimate goal of her work. But it takes so long to track down a soulmate and run all of the checks possible to make sure there are no warning signs that it’s just not possible. She barely sleeps as it is, relying heavily on the Kryptonian stamina that’s augmented by the warmth of the yellow sun. If she takes on any more, even that won’t be enough to handle the strain.

With limited time to spend on her work, supply and demand takes over. Their clientele becomes more exclusive as the word of their successes spreads, and their prices rise accordingly. Kara makes sure to take on as many cases as she can at their old prices for those who can’t afford the new rates, but they still have bills and salaries to pay.

It’s only a matter of time before they attract real attention, and that attention comes in the form of one Cat Grant walking through their office doors.

As soon as Kara hears the well known voice she’s out of her chair and rushing towards the lobby at barely human speeds, desperate to make a good impression. Everyone knows Cat Grant, and everyone knows that crossing or upsetting Cat Grant usually spells the end of a career. Kara has no intention of letting that happen, not after the time she’s devoted to her work.

Kara bumbles the first impression, of course. She can barely string a sentence together with any kind of coherency, the words she does get out are stammered and repeated, and she nearly trips over her own feet twice as they head down the hallway towards her office. That last is particularly impressive, given that she can defy gravity with a thought and move faster than the human eye can track if needed.

Which just makes it all the more embarrassing when she nearly falls on her face. Even if Alex and Maggie, the only two that know her secret, aren’t here to see her she still flushes. She can imagine how they’d tease her if they had been, how they’ll probably tease her when she breaks down and tells them anyway.

But really, she thinks she has a good excuse this time. Cat Grant is standing in front of her, saying something about writing an article on their success. And if that weren’t enough, Kara can see the tangles of fate swirling around her, the threads of the universe that bind her to her soulmate.

That bind her to Kara.

“Of course we’d be willing to allow you access to some of our processes,” Kara says once she’s managed to push down her shock over the situation. “Nothing confidential or about our clients of course, but I’m sure we can work something out.”

“Excellent,” Cat says, leaning forward in her seat just the slightest bit, the simple shift seeming to draw Kara in as she mirrors the move. “Your successes here have been quite impressive, far above what other agencies have been able to accomplish.”

“We’re dedicated to making sure we do things right, Miss Grant,” Kara says, managing what she hopes is a winning smile. Suddenly all of Alex’s lectures about safety and discretion are rushing back, but it’s too late to listen to them now. She’s already given Cat permission, to change her  mind would be suspicious and likely lead to even more questions Kara doesn’t want to see answered. Or at least that she shouldn’t want to see answered.

“Well that dedication has certainly paid off. An exclusive clientele, a 100% success rate on your end, and a 94% success rate for the relationships you help facilitate. You have no cases of pairing an applicant with an abuser, and you keep an on hand counselor to help with any matches you refuse to introduce due to safety concerns. You’ve got the best setup in National City, and everyone wants to know how.” Cat’s eyes gleam with her curiosity, and Kara feels her mouth go dry at having such a look aimed her way. Maybe she should have listened to Alex about how dangerous this could be after all.

“Our entry questionnaire is extensive, designed to help us locate potential matches as well as potential issues,” Kara says, rattling off the business speak Alex and Maggie have drummed into her. “After that it’s a matter of taking the time to do things right. It’s worked for us in the past, and our clients don’t seem to mind the time it takes. Other companies cut corners, accept half answers. We don’t.”

“Ah yes, the questionnaire,” Cat says, pulling a stack of papers from her bag. “It certainly is extensive, but it’s markedly different than the others I’ve seen over the years.”

Kara frowns at that, surprised that anyone had picked up on that. Since she doesn’t need a list of answers to find someone’s soulmate, their screening process is designed to find potential trouble before anything can happen. It’s patterned off of personality exams given in fields where certain personality traits could be dangerous, rather than the usual ones that help find a match. But Kara had been certain they’d hidden that fact from notice.

“It’s a fairly standard questionnaire, if a little more extensive,” she tries, knowing she doesn’t sound as convincing as Alex or Maggie would. In fact, maybe she should let them handle this, come up with some emergency that she has to take care of to get out of this interview before she says something she shouldn’t.

But when you’re sitting across from your soulmate for the first time, walking away is almost impossible. Kara can bend steel with no effort, but lifting herself out of her chair at this moment is a feat beyond what she can accomplish. All she can do is hope she makes it through this interview unscathed.

“But it really isn’t, is it?” Cat says with a smirk, leaning back in her chair with so much confidence that Kara knows she’s in trouble. “It seems like it is, but there’s another layer hidden beneath the generalities. You vet your applicants before they ever have a chance to see you.”

“Is that a problem?” Kara asks warily, unsure of where this is going. “We’re very careful with the safety of those we match at every level.”

“Which is an admirable level of dedication,” Cat agrees, smirk never fading. Kara has the feeling she’s being ushered towards a trap of some kind, but she can’t seem to find one just yet. “But for the purpose of finding matches, the questionnaire is mostly useless. Even if it were designed for that, we know from other agencies that finding a soulmate with the help of a few questions is nearly impossible.”

“I wouldn’t say impossible,” Kara says, mouth dry as she tries to keep herself calm. “Clearly we’re doing something right.”

“I never said you weren’t,” Cat says, flipping through her papers. “But your nearest competitor has a 56% success rate on their matches. Barely half what you accomplish. And their entry questions are just as extensive, if not more in depth. You say that you take the time to ensure success, but that’s a very large gap for a little extra effort.”

“What exactly are you implying?” Kara asks, aiming for offended but knowing she comes across more intimidated. “That our numbers are faked?”

“Oh no, not at all. I’m suggesting that you have some other secret, some other way of finding matches,” Cat says, leaning forward once more as she fixes Kara with a gaze that pins her in her seat. “You have someone on your team that can see soul bonds, don’t you?”

“That’s ridiculous,” Kara protests, voice sounding weak in her own ears. “Soul bonds are outside of what human vision can see, even science has only managed to catch glimpses of them in highly controlled laboratory settings. Dedication is what brings us our success, Miss Grant. Anything else is pure fiction.”

She’d probably be a lot more convincing if she wasn’t still distracted by the fact that she can see those very cords winding around Cat and herself, slowly drawing them closer the longer they go without physical contact to seal the bond.

“Oh, I know that much,” Cat agrees, and Kara nods warily as she waits for the trap she can feel coming. “But that’s exactly it, no human can see them. Which makes me wonder, is someone on your staff not what they seem?”

From the look Cat is sending her it’s clear that she means Kara, and though Kara knows she needs to refute the accusation, she can’t seem to make the words come. She should deny everything, but this woman is her soulmate, the person the universe thinks she belongs with. And after years of helping others find happiness, she wants a chance to find her own.

“An interesting theory,” Kara finally manages, caution keeping her from confessing even as desire keeps her from lying.

“Oh, I have another,” Cat says, rising smoothly from her chair and stepping closer to Kara’s desk. She doesn’t seem bothered by its solid presence between them, apparently ignoring it as an obstacle as she plants her hands and leans forward. “I think that I’m right, and I think you’re going to prove it.”

“How would I do that?” Kara says, trapped by the determined look, unable to move even if she wanted to.

Cat doesn’t answer in words, just slowly and deliberately brings one of her hands to rest over Kara’s, hesitating one long second before closing the distance and pressing their skin together for the first time. And with the shock that runs through them as their souls finally meet completely, Kara knows both that there isn’t any chance of lying after this, and and also that she could never want to even try.

“The way you looked at me the second I walked in, I could tell,” Cat says when they’ve both caught their breath after the rush that had gone through them at the sensation. Her hand still rests on Kara’s, and without thinking Kara turns hers over so she can clasp Cat’s in her own, a deliberate move that shows she’s just as invested in this joining as Cat is.

“Is this going to end up in your story?” Kara asks, surprised to find that she doesn’t care much one way or the other. She can deal with Alex later, right now she’ll do whatever it takes to have a shot at building something with Cat.

“There is no story anymore,” Cat says, no hesitation in her voice. “I can’t exactly tell the world about you, now can I? Or at least not that you’re an alien. My soulmate, now, that I think could cause a few headlines.”

Ales is definitely going to kill her, but Kara can’t be bothered by that right now. Right now she has to find the courage to ask Cat Grant out on a date.

Something tells her she’ll say yes.


End file.
